What Causes Acne
I have heard that you can get a type of acne called ‘handbag acne’ where a handbag strap can cause you to get spots on your shoulders. Why would this happen, and would you have to already have acne to develop it on your shoulders?
Yes, this can happen. Guitarists can get this sort of problem from the guitar strap across the shoulder and back. The basic cause is pressure on that part of the body. This can happen in different situations; for example, violinists can get acne on their chin from the pressure on the violin chin rest. Tight headbands or a close-fitting motorcycle helmet could do this, too, and some soldiers can have similar problems from wearing heavy backpacks for long periods. In this situation just apply a topical acne remedy and perhaps add some padding if possible.
I am 29 and have just started to get spots. Is this the same as teenage acne?
Yes, it is but, although the same basic process is going on in your skin, it could have a different cause. Three questions need to be asked about acne appearing in someone over the age of 25:
Is it a recurrence of acne that cleared up after adolescence?
Is it a flare-up after settling down for some reason (e.g. being pregnant)?
Is it a first presentation with no previous history of acne?
If it is truly a first for you, your doctor might want to do a little bit of investigation before treating you and suggesting appropriate acne remedies. ‘Adult onset acne’ could be due to drug treatment for other conditions, such as lithium for some types of mental ill health, epilepsy drugs, drugs used to treat TB and steroids. By ’steroids’ we mean both those prescribed by doctors and the anabolic steroids used (illegally) by some athletes.
‘Mechanical’ causes should also be considered, as any constant friction or pressure on the skin can induce acne. There are also some diseases that upset the balance of hormones in your body, leading to acne. Another possibility is that you might have just finished taking a long course of the contraceptive pill and your skin is now reacting to the changing hormones. This may settle in time, although you should still be able to get effective acne treatment to keep your skin under control.
Tags: acne remedy, adult onset acne, mental ill health, motorcycle helmet, what causes acne
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